Paradise Lost
by Capt. Cow
Summary: Conner contemplates his feelings for Kira, but is interupted by a 'monster situation'. CK TK COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

Paradise Lost

A/N- Well, it started off as a connerkira anguish fic thing, and I have somehow in the space of an hour managed to turn it into the beginning of an action story. Bear with me; I think it's still ok. Anyway, it's still Connerkira, don't worry there. It just might be a little longer then planned. Please review if you love it or hate it. And you never know, we may even dredge up some Tommy/Kim just for the fun of it.

It hadn't been an instant feeling. Of that he was decidedly certain. But, it had been getting stronger and stronger the more time he spent with her.

Conner sighed, flopping himself down onto his bed. He hadn't been able to get Kira out of his head! Every waking moment was spent thinking about her… Would she be in his next class? Was she looking at him? Was that smile sent at him or the guy behind him?

He had no idea what she felt about him. The way they interacted could hardly be called flirting could it? Some harmless tickling here and there, the joke that had had her calling him 'baby' for a week, the fact that she had laid her head on his shoulder last time they were on a couch together. What did she think of him?! It was driving him bananas. It really was.

Should he talk to Ethan about it? No… he would just laugh at him. Ethan had been teasing him for a week because Kira had put her head on his shoulder. It had hurt Conner that Ethan thought them getting together (or her even liking him back) was so unlikely he could make an enormous joke of it. No, maybe Ethan wasn't the best for relationship counselling.

Dr O maybe? Conner thought hard for a second. Nah, that guy had been crushed when he was Conner's age and never gotten over it. He didn't actually speak the team very often about it, but they had all seen the picture of his ex-girl. It sat above the doc's fridge, always perfectly dusted, but never mentioned. Nope, Dr O. was definitely out of the picture for this problem.

So who did that leave him with to ask for help? He groaned. Should he even be asking for help with this? Was he just fooling himself? Ddi he really like Kira as much as he thought he did? Was it just some desperate inner desire to pursue a normal life when his real life was filled with spandex costumes, and unbelievable monsters? Maybe. That just made his life sad, because he was trying to fool himself into liking the first girl he saw.

Or maybe not. Maybe he really liked Kira as much as he thought he did. This option didn't make him feel any better anyway. If he really did like Kira as much as he was sure he did, then all that was going to happen was his hearting getting broken into a thousand tiny pieces. Which sucked for him. It looked like neither option was a winner for him.

It looked like he was going to have to keep suffering in silence. And hope that Ethan would let off on his continuous bagging out. And keep his fingers crossed that if Kira got any whiff of his feelings for her she'd not laugh at him the way Ethan was. Thinking about it he might have to cross his toes as well. She was gonna laugh her head off if she ever found out he liked her.

ARGH! Conner shouted as he threw a pillow at the wall in frustration. Why wasn't life just easy? He knew that he was pretty lucky in the long run; he had enough to eat, clothes, freedom to worship God without persecution etc. but fair go! This was tearing him apart!

The way Conner saw it the only other option he had was to actually 'gasp' tell her how he felt. And that wasn't even one he wanted to consider. No, it looked like he would just continue to adore her from afar, and end up some lonely old sod in his late twenties like poor old Doctor O. Conner laughed sadly as he realised that it would one day be Kira's picture that sat above the fridge, not a speck of dust on it. What a depressing thought.

Before he could contemplate any further the familiar beeping rang out, holding back an annoyed groan (didn't those monsters ever stop coming!?) Conner lifted his communicator to his mouth.

"Go for Conner."

"There's a monster attacking at the park, can you get here quickly please?" Hayley said quickly, "the others are coming but you might have to hold him off yourself, they don't have your super speed."

"I'm on it Hayley. Conner out."

He rushed out the door of his room and out the front door, shouting a quick, "See you later" to his mother, who was by now quite used to this behaviour.

It didn't take long to get to the park, but there was still quite a scene when he got there. The monster, which looked like a big blue tongue lizard standing on two legs, was breathing fire out of its mouth, setting alight trees and park benches. It looked like people had long since evacuated, for which Conner was very grateful.

He moved forward, hoping to attack it without it seeing him first, but the monster spun around before he could, and Conner realised what it held in its hands (well claws).

A little boy.

"I dunno what the heck you are, but put the kid down mate. He isn't part of this." Conner shouted to the monster, taking a tentative step forward. He didn't want the little kid to get hurt.

"I was told you'd say that" the monster said, in its grating husky voice. "Elsa said you'd say that if I had a little hostage." He shook the boy for effect and the poor kid burst into tears.

"Put him down you SOB, he isn't involved in this!" Conner was shouting now, he desperately wanted to get the little boy away from the monster. The kid was almost hysterical. Strike that. The kid was hysterical.

"Elsa told me to say something else to you as well ya know." The monster said conversationally, giving the kid another little shake.

"And what was that" Conner got out, his voice quivering with anger.

"She said…" he paused; Conner had a quick look over his shoulder for the other two, wondering where they were. The monster began again, "I want to get this just right. Elsa will kill me if I don't. She said that I could give you back the hostage if you handed over yourself. That was it." The monster beamed at itself. "So what will it be? You or the kid?"

Conner froze. Elsa had said what? He was about to speak when something clicked in his head.

"Elsa knew you were going to be talking to me? What about the others? What did she tell you to say to my friends when they get here?"

"You're friends are coming." The monster scoffed. Elsa sent down some other friends for them, you were just for me.

He shook the bawling kid again. "WELL? Which will it be? You or him?

"Put him down and I'll come quietly."

"De-morph and I'll believe that." The monster replied.

Conner did as he was told, thought his hand shook slightly as he did. What on earth was this thing gonna do to him? He might not survive this. That was something he was quite sure of, though there was no question of what he should do. That little boy was terrified, and Conner would do anything he could to get him out of there.

If he didn't come back would she cry for him? At least this gave him bigger things to think about then whether or not he'd live the rest of his life a miserable bachelor. He might not get past today.

"I've demorphed!" He shouted to the monster, "now put the kid down!"

"Oh fine. You rangers and your nobility. Here…" he dropped the boy on the ground, and the kid ran straight to Conner and grabbed his leg.

"T'ank you mr ranger." He had said in a cute little kid voice.

Conner grinned in spite of himself, then stood up straighter and pushed the little boy behind him. The monster hadn't moved. Surely it couldn't be that easy to save this kid? He could grab the boy and make a run for it right then and the monster wouldn't be able to catch them. Unless of course… Conner cursed himself as he felt something bash him on the head.

MORON. He shouted at himself as he fell, Elsa's soldiers can disguise themselves. You just fell for the oldest trick in the b…

And then there was the darkness of unconsciousness.

A/N- Well, there we go chapter one. Love it, hate it? Tell me please! REVIEW! There should be more eventually.


	2. Chapter 2 Now thats an original name

Paradise Lost

A/N- Thankyou for all the wonderful reviews, they were great. Here is chapter two, hope you like it just as much. REVIEWS PLEASE! There will be more some time soon (hopefully)…I mean its not like I've got anything better to do these holidays. ENJOY!

* * *

When Connor woke up with a throbbing pain in the back of his head he wasn't sure how long he had been out for. Opening his eyes slowly he found himself lying on the highly uncomfortable floor of a cell. There was a dank smell about it, and it was very cold. Conner shivered involuntarily, he had only been wearing jeans and a shirt when he left the house, and he was freezing now.

He propped himself up against a wall and tried to work out what was going on. Why had he been captured? What could Elsa possibly want with him? Shouldn't he be dead? Isn't that what she usually threatened to do when they fought?

He was very confused. Although, as he considered it. He was much happier to sit here in relative ignorance then to have Elsa or Mesagog come in and explain it to him personally.

Conner shrugged and leant his head against the wall in an effort to stop the throbbing. It didn't work. There was only one thing really on his mind now. Were the others going to be able to get him out of this?

* * *

Dr Oliver's House

Kira and Ethan wandered back to Dr O's house after a tough battle with the Tyrannadrones. They had been on their way to help Conner when the drones appeared out of no where, a huge swarm of them. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared they had disappeared, no reason whatsoever. Very odd.

She hoped that Dr Oliver came back home from his trip soon, he had gone to visit and old friend during the 'quiet' period the rangers had been having. It looked like that period was over now, and the attacks were back.

After destroying the drones Hayley hadn't told them to go and help Conner, so Kira and Ethan had made their way back to base assuming he had destroyed his monster all by himself.

So it was that she was completely unprepared for Hayley's news when they arrived back.

"Conner's disappeared."

"He did WHAT?" Kira shrieked in surprise, causing both Ethan and Hayley to cover their ears. She flashed them an apologetic look and then looked at Hayley for an answer to her question.

"I don't know exactly what happened. One minute he was there, were the monster was, I went to check your progress, came back and both he and the monster had disappeared. I can't locate his morpher signal anywhere."

Kira froze. He's disappeared. Probably taken by some freakishly ugly monster back to Elsa's little fortress place. What if he was really badly hurt? Elsa could be pretty nasty… what if she never saw him again! How would she live without seeing Conner's gorgeous smile…

Hang on, Kira paused her pessimistic train of thought, did I just call Conner's smile gorgeous?

"I'm going to replay the footage of the fight; we'll see what we can pick up from it."

Pressing a few buttons on the computer Hayley turned to watch the screen in front of her, where Conner had just arrived at the park to fight the monster. She and the others watched in horror as the monster threatened the child. They had all gasped as Conner demorphed and then sighed with relief when the monster let the kid go. It was the last few minutes of footage that horrified them.

_Conner grinned in spite of himself, then stood up straighter and pushed the little boy behind him. The monster hadn't moved. Suddenly a look of comprehension crossed his face as the child behind him silently turned into one of Elsa's foot soldiers. It had been a trick all along. Before Conner could notice the change the soldier bashed him over the head with the blunt end of its sword, and he flopped limply to the ground. _

_A portal appeared, with Elsa inside it, and the soldier, the monster carrying Conner and her all disappeared back inside leaving an empty park behind._

They all stared at the screen open mouthed. Ethan couldn't believe it. Conner had been kidnapped by a soldier masquerading as a kid. That was low, even for Elsa. Or maybe it wasn't, but it was a dirty trick and Conner had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

"Do you think he's alright?" Kira asked, she was trying to put on a brave, rather indifferent front, but Ethan could tell from the tremor in her voice that this was really bothering her.

"He's Conner." Ethan said trying to reassure them both at once, "of course he'll be alright. Nothing's gotten the better of him yet."

She smiled at him gratefully, though it was a rather wan smile, void of most emotion.

"I'm going to go call Tommy." Hayley said. "We're going to need him back here."

"Definitely." Agreed Ethan, who had sat down at the computer and was watching the replay of the battle again.

"We're going to have to try to recreate this portal." He said quietly, "otherwise we're never going to get too Conner."

Kira bit her lip. That didn't sound very promising. "Can you do it?" she whispered to Ethan, who had positioned himself at the computer and was typing madly.

"Yeah, I think so…" He paused and hit a few more keys. "It will take me a couple hours though…"

"Hours!" she exclaimed, wishing she could take it back when she saw the hopeless look on Ethan's face. Kira knew he was doing his best to help Conner too, but it was just so…ARGH. Damn Elsa, and her stupid tricky monster schemes! Why couldn't they just have a normal life? Instead of having to worry about friends being hurt by random scary Dino critters. It wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry Ethan" she apologised, "I'm not angry at you. I'm just worried."

He shrugged in acceptance, and half turned to her, so he could speak to her and focus on the computer at the same time.

"Since when are you worried about Conner? You don't usually care when stuff happens to him, just shout at him for being ignorant or something. What's changed?"

"Nothing!" She denied quickly…maybe too quickly. Ethan's lips quirked into a smirk.

"I don't believe you Kira." The smirk broadened into a smile, "I've seen the way you look at him. You really like him don't you."

She didn't answer for a minute or too, lost in thoughts that she never thought she'd be having. Who'd have ever guessed that she would be having this conversation? Certainly not her. And never in her wildest dreams would she have thought of giving Ethan the answer that she did.

"I think I do." Was the whispered reply. It annoyed her little that Ethan didn't even look mildly surprised.

"I knew it!" He exclaimed, "I knew it!"

"You tell him and I'll kill you myself" Kira threatened, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her chest. She had been so confused about Conner but now, hey, maybe she did like him.

"Are you going to tell him?" Ethan questioned.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea." She said sarcastically, "we don't want him to hyperventilate laughing too hard, Dr O would kill us."

"You reckon he doesn't like you?" Ethan exclaimed incredulous, he had completely turned from the computer to face her and the look on his face was totally disbelieving.

"He doesn't, why should he?" Her voice had dropped in volume now, she was seriously regretting ever saying anything to Ethan.

Ethan spluttered, as though his voice had magically deserted him.

"You're joking!" He finally said, "Conner's absolutely smitten! He's terrified to say anything coz he thinks you hate his guts. Man he's gonna be absolutely thrilled when he hears!"

Before she could reply there was a sudden static sound, and the computer screen blurred.

"What the…" Ethan was cut off by Elsa's face appearing on the screen.

"Hello rangers" she said, her cold glare sending a chill down Kira's spine, "I think I have something that belongs to you, and if you want him back I want your gems by noon tomorrow. Think it over…" And the communication cut out.

Kira repressed a sob. "I may never get to tell him now!" She turned increasingly blurry eyes to Ethan. "What are we going to do?!"

* * *

There we go the next instalment in my supposed one-shot. I hope you liked it, even if you hated it with a passion please leave a review! Merry Christmas everyone, and remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season. 


	3. Chapter 3

Paradise Lost

A/N Hey people, hope everyone had a great Christmas, fantastic New Year and all that. Here is the next chapter in the saga, hop you enjoy it! Please leave a review! All the reviews I got for the last chapter were fantastic, thanks heaps!

Oh, btw, I have never actually seen an episode of Dino thunder, it isn't being shown in Australia, so this is all vaguely based on a couple pictures I saw, and other fanfic stories. If it isn't even remotely close to the truth I apologise sincerely, and any helpful hints as to what I'm doing wrong would be fantastic!

Kira was slumped miserably on her bed, her eyes red from tears. Ethan and Hayley had sent her home to get some rest while she could. They had been busy working on the computers, and she had been doing…well, nothing, so Hayley had suggested she have a sleep, because she was going to need to be full strength later on.

Privately Kira reckoned Hayley just wanted her out of their hair, which made sense, as her misery and pessimism wasn't really helping the rescue attempt.

And so here she was, lying on her bed, lonely and upset, contemplating just how much a part of her life Conner had become. It had happened so gradually, his integration into her world. She hadn't even noticed how much she had come to depend on him; his smile, his opinion, his support.

And now it might all be ripped away from her because of some Dino freak and his minions.

Kira groaned and rolled over, thinking back to her life as it was now, and then dropping Conner out of the equation. A couple months ago, she wouldn't have even noticed he was gone, but now…she wasn't sure she was going to be able to live without him. The intensity of that realisation startled her.

"I have to get him back." Kira said, determinedly to herself. "I just have too." With that she gave up on her 'rest', if it could even be called that she hadn't even tried to sleep, and headed off out the door with only a vague "I'll see you later" to her mother.

She was going to help Ethan and Hayley, because if she didn't do something soon, just lay on her bed and thought she was going to go absolutely bananas.

He was roughly roused out of a restless sleep by one of the drones and dragged down some dank passages to a room where Elsa and Zeltrax waited for him. They looked pretty damn pleased about something, (which he supposed was his capture). He was slightly afraid of them though, their all too smug expressions suggesting that they knew something he didn't. And he was not going to like it when he found out.

"Sleep well?" asked Elsa, her dark eyes glinting maliciously in the dim lighting.

"As well as can be expected." Conner shot back, annoyed at how casual she sounded. He was in a dangerous life threatening position, and she was speaking like she had just invited him over to tea.

She didn't speak for a moment, just eyed him. It reminded him of one of those nature documentaries, where the lion is eyeing its prey before the big strike.

"I spoke to your friends." She said, in the same casual tone.

A look of surprise crossed his face, followed by one of confusion. Why was she telling them she had him? Didn't that give them the advantage as they looked for him?

Hang on…

"What did you ask for?"

She smiled innocently, way, way too innocently, and said "Why would we ask for anything, eh Red Ranger, we were just concerned for your safety."

"Like fun you are, what do you want Elsa?"

Her whole composure changed in a second. Her eyes continued to glint, her expression became a sneer, and her voice was back to its usual evil tone.

"I told the other pathetic rangers that if they ever wanted to see you again, I wanted their gems. And, them being the ignorant fools that they are, they will give them to me without question." She smiled again, evilly this time, "and then, once I have the gems, I'll kill you. In their grief the other rangers will be easy targets. Especially that yellow one. She will be the first to fall."

Conner didn't even stop to think he was so filled with rage from the comment about them killing Kira. He leapt at Elsa, a shout escaping his mouth as he punched her hard across the face.

It was the only shot he got in, as the drones that had been guarding the door raced in to pull him off her.

Elsa stood, blood flowing from her nose, the malicious glint in her eyes replaced with a relatively homicidal one. As he bravely held her glare with one of his own she slowly drew her sword.

"That was a stupid thing to do Red Ranger." Her voice was quiet as a mouse, but he heard her like she had shouted in his ear. "It may just be the last thing that you ever do."

She held her sword high and stepped forward.

A/N And that, ladies and gents is where I leave this chapter. Next chap we'll get back to Hayley and Ethan, they sort of got rejected in this one. REVIEW PLEASE. Thanks ppl. 


	4. Chap 4

Paradise Lost

Authors note- Well, here we are chapter four. Hope you enjoy this one everyone. Keep the reviews coming please! They are fantastic!

Conner froze as she stepped towards him, holding her sword over her head.

"Any last words ranger?"

_Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh…this is it! I'm gonna be killed by some dino freak, with nothing but Dino drones as company. There was so much I wanted to do with my life, and I'm gonna miss out on all of it…_

Conner kept his mouth shut defiantly, refusing to give her the satisfaction of him begging for his life.

_If I am going to die, I'll die like a ranger. _

He straightened as much as he could in the Tyrannadrones grip.

She swung the sword back and began to move it towards him. Conner, in a desperate last ditch attempt to save himself struggled against the drones, but to no effect.

He closed his eyes, hoping that it would be over quickly.

"ELSA!" Zeltrax's voice echoed around the tiny room. "Mesagog wants him alive. That's the way he needs to stay."

Hardly daring to believe it Conner opened an eye. Elsa was frozen with her sword about 30cm from him.

He let out a breath he had been holding with an explosive sigh.

Elsa didn't speak to Zeltrax to argue, she was clearly weighing the options in her mind. Indescribable anger flashed in her eyes as she dropped her sword and stalked to the door.

"Once those friends of yours turn over their gems you will be mine red ranger. And nothing will save you then." With a farewell glare at Zeltrax she left the room, her footsteps echoing down the hall.

Zeltrax looked slightly relieved that she had gone. He turned to face Conner, who was breathing hard, struggling to believe that he was still alive.

"I wouldn't try that again. No one is worth defending if it means you anger Elsa." Zeltrax turned to the drones holding Conner. "You may take him back to his cell; the boy has much to think about."

_I sure do! _Thought Conner as he was dragged rather unceremoniously from the room, the two minions dumped him on the floor in his cell and left him there.

If possible it seemed colder in the cell then it had been when he had first awoken. The headache that had receded slightly was back full force after the whack he had received when the drones pulled him off Elsa.

It didn't matter how much pain he felt or how cold he was though. HE WAS ALIVE.

"I don't care how I do it." Conner said determinedly to himself, "but I am getting out of here. And I am going to tell Kira how I feel about her."

Because as he had been in the horrible place, the one where you know you are about to die and can do nothing to prevent it, he had realised that while most of his regrets centred around his family, and not seeing enough of the world his main one was that he had not yet told Kira just how much he cared for her.

And right now he didn't care if she ran a mile after he told her, just so long as she knew.

He smiled in spite of the situation. His timing had never really been that spot on, it would be just like him to make enormous romantic decisions while in a prison cell.

It felt good though. To have made that decision. He had known for a while that he had some strong feelings for Kira, but had been trying to pass them off as him being tired, or stressed, or desperate. Or all three.

But now he knew. If when he died that last thing he thought of before getting to Heaven was Kira he wanted her to know that.

Even if it meant she never spoke to him again.

Because Kira would never ever like him in that way…would she?

Ethan and Hayley had been working for almost two hours when Kira arrived back at the lab.

"I can't rest when I know he's in danger Hayley, you've gotta give me something to do or I'm gonna go crazy! PLEASE!"

Hayley smiled, Ethan had filled her in on what was happening as they tried to copy the portal that had captured Conner.

"I understand Kira why don't you just…"

The sound of the door to Dr O's house opening stopped her in mid sentence.

"Dr O's back!" Exclaimed Kira, racing upstairs. Dr Oliver was the most level headed of the group, having the most experience rangering, and he would be able to reassure them all.

He had obviously been on his way to rush to the lab because they all bumped into each other on the stairs.

Hayley gave him a quick fill in on what was happening as he grabbed a drink and took a seat.

"Dr O what are we gonna do about them wanting the gems for Conner?" asked Ethan as soon as he had sat down.

"How are we going replicating that portal Hayley?" Tommy asked her, trying to take in all the information.

She sounded dubious, like she didn't think going through the portal was a good idea. "At the moment we think we may have it almost perfect, but we won't be able to keep it open for long. We'd have to arrange a time to open another one, and hope that you could all get to the right place at the right time to jump back here. It's very risky. The people who go after Conner could be trapped there indefinitely if they miss that portal, we would have no idea what was happening because the communicators won't work in Mesagog's hideout."

"Hmmm. Let me think." Dr O said, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair. True, he was a good leader, he had been since he was 16yrs old, but he had never liked putting other people's lives in danger.

"I think that it is safer to go in through the portal then handing over our gems."

He held up a hand to silence Hayley's objection and let him finish.

"But instead of just having one time for it to open the portal would be scheduled to open for one minute every half an hour. That way we can't get trapped."

"I don't like it Tommy." Hayley said, her tone suggesting she didn't just not like it, but hated it completely.

"It's the lesser of two evils" he reasoned. "We can't willingly give away our gems, its puts to many people in danger. And even if we did, it might not even help Conner. You can't trust evil. We at least have to try to save him before we consider a trade."

"I'm with Dr O, Hayley" Kira agreed. Although, it wasn't for the same reasons. If they waited until the specified for the trade and did nothing she would go crazy. She had to do something to save him, and even though it was dangerous this was the only way.

"Well, get ready then, I'll get ready to work the portal." She sighed rather dramatically and sat down at the computer, her fingers typing away.

The three rangers morphed, and prepared to enter the portal.

Ethan fought down the nerves he was feeling. They were going to go and save Conner, knock Elsa around a bit, and then leave. That was that. Simple and easy. He hoped.

Hayley opened the portal and Kira leapt through, closely followed by Ethan.

"We'll see you in half an hour." Dr Oliver said to Hayley, he smiled reassuringly, "we'll bring him back safe and sound." And with that he stepped through the portal into the unknown, his blaster held at the ready.

A/N- Review please! More should be here within a week or two.

Or, even better, remember Asia Tsunami victims in your prayers and donate generously, every little bit counts.


	5. Chapter 5

Paradise Lost

A/N Thanks for the awesome reviews. Here's the next instalment. Hope you enjoy it.

There was a short blur, and then Kira found herself flung into a room. Ethan followed soon after her, landing ungracefully on the floor with a thud. He had just finished dusting himself off when Dr O. flew through the portal, crashing Ethan back into the floor.

In the time it took the boys to sort themselves out Kira had surveyed the room they arrived in. It looked like a storage room, although there wasn't much in there, just bare shelves.

Dr Oliver had a quick look at his watch; it had been three minutes since they came through the portal.

"C'mon guys, lets get going, we've got twenty seven minutes to find Conner and get the heck out of here."

They followed Dr O quietly through the corridors. Kira was glad that Ethan was logging their course in a little pocket computer. Otherwise they would have been in a lot of trouble. The place was like one big labyrinth.

They had been going ten and a half minutes exactly (Dr O was paying close attention to the time) when they met their first opposition. It was actually a tiny relief; they had been coming closer and closer to the centre of the fortress without meeting any opposition, which would have meant they were walking straight into a trap.

A patrol of Tyrannodrones walked straight into them, momentarily stunning both sides. Fortunately it was the rangers who reacted first, neatly dispatching the drones and hurrying faster down the corridor. Dr O checked his watch again; they needed to find Conner fast. He didn't want to wait for the second portal to open; he wanted to be in and out within thirty minutes.

And they were running out of time.

Conner was sitting in the corner of his cell. He was freezing, rubbing his hands together to try and regain feeling in his fingers. At the same time his mind was attempting to coordinate an escape plan. Although the fact that he had been unconscious when he was first brought to the lair was not helping.

Conner groaned. It was relatively useless. Sitting here attempting an escape plan. Even if he could break down the door and, ignoring his throbbing headache and slight nausea, defeat every Tyrannadrone in the place he still had to find out how to get back home, AND avoid Elsa because she was out for his blood.

He leaned back against the cell wall. Maybe escaping wasn't going to be the best option right now. But if he wasn't going to try and escape what else could he do? Apart from sit here in a cell being bored out of his skull.

Although if he didn't escape, then the others would come looking for him, and that would put them in danger.

That would put Kira in danger.

Conner fought down his headache, and ignoring the sudden urge to spew, stood up.

He was going to have to find a way out of this; he didn't want anyone getting hurt for him.

It was just after having this sudden realisation (he'd been having quite a few of those recently) that Elsa burst through his door, flanked by five drones.

There was a bandage across her nose, suggesting his rather haphazard punch had actually done some damage… and broken her nose.

No wonder she looked so annoyed.

Conner fought a sudden bout of nausea to keep standing strongly on his own two feet. He was not going to give Elsa the satisfaction of leaning against the wall because he was too weak to stand.

"What do you want? You can't hurt me." He had injected confidence into his voice, confidence he didn't really feel. She certainly looked ready to hurt him…

"No…" Elsa corrected. "I can't kill you." His stomach flopped. "But…I can hurt you." She took a step forward; he couldn't move away, his back was against the wall.

She smiled nastily as four drones moved forward to restrain him.

"Would you like us to become a matching pair? I certainly would. I think I'll start by breaking your nose…"

And once more Conner was fighting against the vice like grip of the Tyrannadrones as Elsa came towards him.

At least she wasn't holding a sword this time.

It was his last thought before she drew her hand back and smashed it into his nose.

Kira's heart froze when she heard a shout of pain coming from a bit further down the hall.

Ethan and Dr O heard it too.

"That's Conner!" she shrieked, racing away down the corridor towards where she had heard the sound.

"Kira be careful!" cried Dr O as he and Ethan tried to catch up with her. "It could be a trap!"

She stopped suddenly fifty metres in front of them, and for a moment Dr Oliver thought for once she had actually listened to him.

Words failed Kira as Dr O and Ethan sprinted up to her. She had arrived at the door to a cell. It had been left slightly ajar. They could all see inside.

Conner was being held up by four Tyrannadrones; obviously the usual two hadn't been strong enough to keep him down. And in front of him stood Elsa, everybody's favourite evil Dino person. It looked to Ethan like she was using Conner for a punching bag.

Blood was pouring out of his obviously broken nose, and oozing from half a dozen other places on his face alone. From their positions at the door the rangers couldn't tell if he was injured anywhere else.

Horrified as he was by what they were doing Dr O knew they couldn't just barge in. He signalled for the two to follow him quietly back around the corner. They needed a plan.

A quick look at his watch told him that 27 minutes had passed.

They weren't going to get home just yet.

This was certainly not as easy as he had hoped it would be.

A/N- I'm sorry, its pretty short, and I know people are keen for the Conner/Kira stuff to start happening soon, but it was all going too easily. Hope you enjoyed this instalment; the next will be up soonish, probably before Australia Day. In the chapters to come I promise some wonderfully sappy Conner Kira stuff is coming, and I think there will probably be some Tommy Kim as well. Please review! Thanks heaps everyone.


	6. Chapter 6

Paradise Lost

A/N- Well, happy Australia day everybody. This chapter would be longer, but I'm exhausted (we just had a 3 hour pool noodle fight and played a huge game of cricket) and sporting a rather lovely black eye courtesy of a cricket ball, but I promised to have a chapter up before the end of Australia day, and here it is as promised. Hope you like it...

As always, I apologise in advance for my dodgy fight scenes.

Enjoy, and please review.

Kira didn't move for a couple moments, unable to believe that Dr O wanted to leave Conner there! The practical part of her mind was telling her that the three of them couldn't take Elsa and the drones at one time, and they needed a tricky plan to save Conner.

But the part of her that had over the course of Conner's imprisonment had come to realise that she really, really, really liked him, and couldn't possibly live without him didn't want to leave him there any longer then she needed too.

Unfortunately it was this part of her mind that had control at that particular moment in time. Completely ignoring Dr O's hurried hand movements Kira whipped out her blaster and raced into the room with a loud war cry.

Elsa, who had been in mid punch, was so startled her arm froze in the air as she gaped at Kira, who had dispatched two drones with her blaster and was facing off against the others.

Dr O and Ethan, standing safely around the corner were horrified by Kira's rather insane charge, but had to follow her because while they stood very little chance of winning the fight, Kira stood no chance at all on her own. So they drew their own blasters and raced into the room after her.

Kira was quite relieved when her fellow rangers arrived in the room. For a horrible moment (just after the practical part of her mind had retaken control and she had realised how stupid she was racing into the room) she had thought that maybe they would leave her here to fight alone to make her pay for rushing in so ridiculously.

Dr Oliver went straight for Elsa, who had recovered surprisingly quickly and was trying to get her blaster from where it hung on a hook behind Conner. Moving quickly Dr Oliver got himself between Elsa and her prisoner who was still being held up by two drones.

He was limp in their grasp, although Tommy could see that he wasn't unconscious; eyes were open and moving, but a scarily blank expression was on his face, like he wasn't able to comprehend anything he saw.

Forcing back the worst of his worry and deciding that nothing could help Conner more then Elsa being defeated and him being able to be free from this horrible place Tommy prepared to fight.

Kira and Ethan were facing off against the drones, more of which seemed to pour into the room with every passing minute.

"This is ridiculous!" Kira shouted to Ethan as she knocked over three more with some fast punches.

"Well it wasn't me who rushed in here without thinking, was it?!" exclaimed Ethan, coughing after a drones whacked him in the stomach.

"I know I did the wrong thing! Just leave me alone about it! Let's win this fight, and then you can kill me for being such an idiot."

"Ok." Ethan agreed, "Let's do that."

Tommy and Elsa were circling each other, neither making an aggressive move, both ready for the other to strike first. It seemed like hours before Elsa spoke, not taking her eyes off him.

"He did this you know," she gestured from Conner to her nose. "Stronger then he looks. Of course," she laughed, and evil laugh devoid of any feeling, "he paid for it later." She smiled at Dr O and gestured once more at Conner, who was still flopped between the drones, eyes glazed with pain. "Makes you wish you'd moved just that little bit faster doesn't it."

Tommy tried to ignore her, he could tell she was trying to get under his skin, make his worry and his guilt cause him to do something wrong as he fought, make a mistake that could cost all of them.

But the thought, that they should have been faster had planted a seed of doubt in his stomach. Elsa's eyes flashed excitedly as she saw the slight droop of Dr Oliver's shoulders. She had gotten through, now he would be a pushover. And she would be Mesagog's favourite minion, because she would have brought him all the power rangers on a silver platter.

And with these encouraging thoughts in her head Elsa gave up on the circling, and charged straight at Dr O, who was ready for her, and floored her quickly with a sharp kick.

Spluttering from impact of hitting the floor, and at the indignity of being floored by one punch from the weak Tommy Oliver Elsa struggled to rise, only to be met by a fist and then another kick.

She regained her footing quicker this time, jumping up and catching him in the face with her feet. Dr O stumbled back, but didn't fall, even as she got in a quick punch to the stomach.

He leapt up and did a flip over her, kicking her from behind and following up with a spinney kick to the head.

Elsa countered once more, and they continued their fight, both seeming relatively well matched to each other, neither gaining the advantage.

And as they fought, Ethan and Kira were slowly making headway through the drones; they could actually see the corridor again. It was lifting their spirits some what.

Ethan checked his watch; they had been in Mesagog's lair for exactly 42 minutes. It was going to take them ten minutes to get back to the portal. They had to go soon. This meant they had to get Conner.

Which was not going to be easy.

"Kira!" he called over the sea of drones, "we need to get out of here within the next eight minutes! Otherwise we have to wait another half an hour for the portal, and I don't think we can hold these guys off for that long!"

"We have to get Conner out of here, I don't care if we miss this portal, we're not going without him."

A/N- So, how were the fight scenes? More is coming, and I PROMISE, the sappy connerkira is on its way, just give me a few more chapters to rescue them.


	7. Chapter 7

Paradise Lost

A/N- Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Sorry for the huge wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Conner could vaguely see blurs in front of him, and he could sort of hear raised voices, but everything hurt SO MUCH, he just couldn't focus. As he fought the pain to try and stay awake and work out what was going on (he was sure he had heard Dr O. a minute ago) a scream broke through the pain haze.

"DR O!"

That was Kira's voice Conner's fogged mind told him. And she sounded upset. He doubled his efforts to beat back his confusion. If Kira was here, and calling for Dr O, that meant they were all here, trying to rescue him, and he should be trying to help them fight.

The blurriness in his eyes was getting slightly better, as though he had beaten it back with sheer will force. He was seeing double of most things, and not seeing them very well, but he could now actually make out people from walls.

From what he could vaguely make out, someone was on the floor, just in front of him. They were lying on their back, and, someone or something…Conner squinted to work out who. Elsa! It was Elsa! Elsa was holding her sword to the person on the grounds throat.

Which most likely meant the person on the ground, who he couldn't quite see well enough to put a name to, was one of his three team mates.

And, as it seemed no one else was helping said team-mate, it was up to him to save them.

Conner tried once again to force away all the fog in his mind. But, the sort of pain induced haze that he was clinging to consciousness with wouldn't go away. Giving up on shaking it away Conner had a quick glance to either side of him. Just the slight movement of his head made it seem like his whole top half was on fire, but he ignored that, focussing instead on the person Elsa was holding her sword to.

I have to save them; I have to save them… Conner chanted to himself. The two drones holding him didn't seem to be too worried about him, they both held him with a terribly loose grip; just enough to keep him off the ground. Well at least one thing had gone right. The drones weren't going to be expecting this!

Still chanting in his head Conner ripped his arms from the drones grip, and before they could even register he had moved Conner leaped at Elsa. He drove her into the floor, and away from the person laying on the ground. Elsa kicked him in the stomach, and jumped back to her feet. Conner, whose vision had blurred once more with the exertion of his tackle, saw a blobby person shaped thing move to attack her.

But he saw nothing else before sinking into unconsciousness.

Kira had watched it happen in slow motion. Dr O had been knocked to the ground in his fight against Elsa. As hard as she and Ethan had tried they hadn't been able to break through to him, and she had stood over him triumphant and ready to skewer him on her sword.

It had been a shock to everyone when the seemingly unconscious Conner had leapt out from between his drone guards and knocked Elsa into the ground. That had been the signal for everything to turn even more chaotic. Dr O was off the ground in an instant, retrieving his lost sword and getting ready to continue his fight with Elsa.

Kira had taken the drones surprise and used it against them; taking down four before they could work out that the fight had begun again. It took only a short time before Kira was fighting right next to Conner.

He was, to her dismay, out like a light, lying unaware on the floor of the room. She hadn't yet been this close to him, and she was shocked by the state he was in. Blood was still dripping form several cuts on his face, and she was fairly sure that the shirt he was wearing had blood seeping into it, though it was impossible to tell because it was red.

"Ethan! How long do we have before the portal comes!" she shouted across the room.

"Um, like 4 minutes." Ethan shouted back. The sea of drones had dwindled considerably to very few now, and Ethan had almost reached Dr O, who was still battling it out with Elsa.

"Ethan, Conner's hurt REALLY bad. I think we have to get him back now, do you reckon we can make it to the portal in time?"

Ethan thought hard for a second. Flipping back away form the three drones that were left he had a quick look over to Kira. She had disposed of all her enemies, and was kneeling next to Conner. And she was right, he looked terrible.

He also had a quick look over to Dr O. He and Elsa seemed pretty fairly matched in their fight, neither giving and inch. They were going to be there all day.

"You can make it if you go now. Can you carry Conner? Or is he too heavy even when you're morphed?"

"I can carry him. How can we get rid of Elsa quick enough? Have you got a plan?"

"Dr O can't beat her in the next three minutes Kira. You have to take Conner yourself. Come back for us, I'll wait with Dr O. QUICK! You have to run now! Don't fight me on this, I know you don't want to leave us but we have to do what's best for Conner! Staying here another half an hour won't help him! Go, quickly! SPRINT!"

She didn't need to be told twice. It was hard work sprinting and holding Conner, but luckily the portal room wasn't to far away. It had just taken them forever to find him before because of their sneaking. The suit made her a little faster then she usually was, and for that she was very grateful. Even so, the portal had already opened when she arrived in the room.

Not even blinking Kira steamed through, calling for Haley to close it immediately after they got through. The amount of noise she had made running through the base she wouldn't be surprised if most of Mesagog himself was right behind her waiting to come through the portal.

Upon entering the base the adrenaline rush she had been on vanished, and she could suddenly feel every hit the drones had landed on her. Panting heavily Kira gently placed Conner on the bed Hayley had prepared in case he was injured. She took the glass of water offered to her gratefully and skulled in a few seconds.

"What happened!" asked Hayley, horrified at Conner's appearance.

"Elsa." Gritted out Kira.

"Where are the others?"

"Back inside, I have to go back for them as soon as possible. They told me to go; we had to get Conner to the portal."

"Of course. It'll take ten minutes or so before I can make another one, the equipment needs to cool down."

Kira nodded, guilty she had left the others, but glad she could have a break before returning.

She sat quietly, holding Conner's hand as Hayley began to check how badly he was injured. Though his face was bad, his stomach was worse. Black and purple bruises covered it, and Kira winced when Hayley told her that he had at least one broken rib.

She was getting ready to go back, because the equipment was almost cooled down when Conner's eyes flicked open.

He could tell he was at the base because of the smell. The sort of almost musty smell that you get when you stand near freshly dug up dirt. And the computer bleeps gave it away as well.

Everything hurt, though not as much as it had before. He assumed that Hayley must have given him something for the pain, which he was grateful for. His vision still wasn't very good, everything was blurry. He could only just tell that someone was sitting next to him, though he couldn't tell who.

"Hayley?" he croaked, his voice hoarse.

"No Conner, it's me, Kira. Can't you tell?"

"Blurry." He replied. It hurt to speak, but he knew there was something pressing he needed to tell her. Something desperately important, to do with him and her maybe?

"I'm just here Conner" she said, holding onto his hand so he knew she was there.

"Somethin I have to tell you." He rasped, confused. "But I can't remember what it is. What happened? Why does everything hurt so much?"

Authors note- Well, there it is chapter 7. Not that good, but oh well, writers block is cruel, and this is the only time I have to write for ages, so I thought I should post something. The next chapters are going to be very sporadic due to school, and the enormous amount of sport I'm playing. (I love winter, all the good sports come on!)

Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE! I'll try and update more soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Paradise Lost

Authors Note- Apology for the huge wait, I got swamped!

This chapter is dedicated to the 9 Australian Defence Force Personnel who died helping Earthquake victims in Indonesia.

He seemed do lost, lying on the sort of temporary bed staring at her. He seemed to be trying to process everything that had happened, as though he couldn't quite fit it all together.

She was going to try and explain to him all the stuff that had happened that day, an abridged version of course because she had to go help Dr O, but Conner had already moved his brain into gear and remembered what he had been trying too.

He really, really liked Kira. And he had to tell her, because otherwise he might not get a chance.

"Kira, I um, I er, I… It's all coming back. I remember what happened."

She looked relieved, she hadn't wanted to try to tell the story, and relive the horrible sight she had seen when they first noticed Conner. He had been cleaned up and bandaged now, but then, she repressed a shudder.

"Kira I have to tell you something. And I know that you probably won't like to hear it," he hesitated slightly, but then a determined expression settled onto his face. "But I want to tell you, because when I was sitting in that cell today, I wasn't sure I was ever gonna get a chance. And that really scared me."

She didn't quite know how to respond, and sort of moved her head slightly as though asking him to go on. He'd dropped his gaze from her eyes, and was staring at a spot on the wall opposite.

"I…, I think I'm in love with you Kira…"

If she hadn't been holding onto the bed she would have fallen over for sure. He loved her? Was that what she felt for him? She felt slightly sick as a billion different emotions bombarded her, but before she could say anything back to Conner Hayley rushed into the room.

"Kira, I've got the portal up! Quickly, morph! We need to rescue Tommy and Ethan! I've got it on automatic to open every ten minutes. I'm coming in with you."

She was armed with a blaster, and looked determined so Kira didn't bother trying to dissuade her. She did however shoot a quick look at Conner, who lay rather dismally on the bed. Not knowing quite what to say to him she simply muttered,

"I've got to go…" and raced from the room.

Well that couldn't possibly have gone worst Conner thought as he tried to roll into a more comfortable position.

She had just stared at him, mouth open, confused and then raced form the room at the first opportunity.

But, he hadn't expected anything more had he? Surely he should be glad now, he had told her. It didn't matter how many evil dino freaks threatened him now, because he had sucked it up and finally let her know how he felt. Although now he felt like an idiot, because she was going to avoid him like the plague forever now.

Conner groaned, maybe he had been better off being confused about his feelings. Knowing what you wanted, and not having it really sucked as well.

Kira was still slightly dazed from Conner's words. Hayley was following behind her, expecting her to know the way. She was lucky that the sounds of battle were echoing loudly around the corridors, or else they never would have actually found Dr O and Ethan. She was far too deep in her own thoughts.

The deep and meaningful had to stop however when they arrived at the fight. Dr O and Ethan looked exhausted, and the number of drones in the room was ridiculous, although most of them were lying on the floor, flat on their backs.

Some were still fighting though, and the two rangers looked ready to collapse at any minute. Elsa was long gone it seemed, for she was no where to be seen in the room. Kira assumed she had decided it was a battle she couldn't win and run for it.

Hayley used her blaster to finish off the few remaining drones and Kira rushed to help Ethan, who drooped noticeably when the drones he had been fighting disappeared.

"Took you long enough" he murmured, although he didn't sound annoyed, just tired.

Kira felt guilty. "Sorry, I came back as soon as I could."

"You did good Kira" said Dr O. He sounded relieved. "Let's get out of here before Elsa comes back. Is Conner ok?"

She nodded, and moved to look around the door into the corridor, to check it was clear. There was nothing in sight and so the group moved swiftly and uneventfully back down the corridors to the room that the portal opened in. Hayley checked her watch.

"We have about five minutes to wait," she said. Tommy and Ethan sat tiredly on the floor, Hayley soon joined them, but Kira stood leaning up against the door, lost in thought.

_I think I'm in love with you Kira…_

_I think I'm in love with you Kira…_

_I think I'm in love with you Kira…_

It kept replaying in her head, over and over, and she couldn't get rid of the image of his face in her head. He had sounded so sincere, but so hopeless, like he wasn't expecting a reaction.

That, possibly, was what was bothering her most. Didn't he think she liked him at all? Was he really admitting his feelings and not expecting anything back from her at all?

_Well, you didn't give him much to go on when you left did you Kira _came a little voice in her head. She'd blown him off and raced out the door, but that wasn't because she didn't love him, she just hadn't been able to tell him how she felt about him. And people had been in danger, surely he got that?

His expression as she had rushed form the room floated back into her mind. He had been disappointed, but not surprised, and hurt as well.

But why had she made him feel that way? She did feel something for him that much she was sure of. She had barely been able to cope when he had disappeared just for several hours. But love? Could you really fall in love in high school? Should she tell him that she wasn't in love with him, but felt something for him? Or maybe she could say she loved him back, and hope that what she felt was love.

Neither option seemed right, but before she could ponder the problem anymore the portal opened in front of them, and the group walked through together. All glad to be out of the base.

A/N- Ok, here's the deal. There's going to be more Conner Kira stuff, I'm pretty sure there will be Tommy Kim magically added before the end too. Apology for the enormously terrible escape, but I had to get something posted, and all my assessments have given me writers block. High school will do that too you. Anyway, holidays are here now, so there should be more within the next two weeks. Thanks for sticking with the story, and review please!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**- I don't own the Power Rangers, or anything associated with them.

**Authors Note- **And here it is, the profuse apology for waiting so long to update. I don't even remember the last time I sat down to write anything. Um, blame my teachers? And the severe mental blank I had? And life in general? But yeah, if anyone out there is still reading, then drop us a review please. I'm gonna try and finish it, so I don't have it hanging over my head when I get swamped by assessments again.

He was unconscious again when they entered the base, but not looking as uncomfortable as he had when they had first noticed him strung up between the dino drones. Ethan and Dr Oliver seemed to tired to do more then look relieved that he was ok after Hayley reassured them that Conner being passed out was probably just an effect of the pain killer she had given him.

"He's exhausted, just like you all are" she had said decisively, herding the three upstairs for a drink and a comfortable chair, "I'll look after him and let you all know when he wakes up."

When Hayley used that tone of voice few forces in the world could stop her, and so the they went and sat in Dr Oliver's living room, trying to banish the image of Conner covered in so much blood.

Kira especially was lost in her own mind. Trying to decide which option would be the best for her to take. Why did life have to be so complicated?

Love? Was she in love? Yes, she loved his company, and he made her laugh, and there would be a hole in her life without him, but love? In high school? Kira had always been taught that love came with maturity, and maturity came after school, when people were shoved out into the world, and told that that was what life really looked like.

But what she felt for Conner was strong, not like the petty crush she had had on the cute exchange student from England, or whatever she had felt for Thomas Long before they had broken up 'mutually' at the end of the last year. It was different to anything she had ever felt before.

Her stomach lurched uncomfortably. How was she supposed to put this into words and explain it to Conner? She didn't understand what she felt, how could she explain it to him without giving him the wrong idea and ruining any hope of them ever doing anything together? She would have shot herself in the foot before ruining their friendship, but by trying to respond truthfully to his rather sudden outburst she would be doomed to fail. But then, on the other hand, if she said nothing about her feelings, and agreed whole heartedly then she was already starting the relationship off on the wrong foot.

Hadn't her mother always told her to never hide anything in a relationship? Certainly the fact that she actually didn't love Conner would be classified as hiding something large.

She groaned out loud, and prayed whole heartedly for a solution to appear, doubting very much that one would, that didn't involve her moving to Cuba before Conner was recovered enough to know.

"What's up Kira?" He sounded tired, and shaken, which wasn't completely unusual considering the situation, but also genuinely interested in whatever was making her groan with such ferocity.

She turned, broken from her thoughts, to see Dr Oliver looking at her piercingly, as though trying to decide if she was injured and hiding it.

"I'm fine, I'm not hurt. Just tired."

"You don't seem it."

He was right, she didn't. How was it that this man was so perceptive? Why couldn't he have followed Ethan's example and fallen asleep on the couch, to leave her to brood in silence.

"I'm just…" she sighed, unsure, "confused. It's complicated. I don't think you'd understand."

He was a teacher after all, and no self-respecting student was going to open up and have a heart-to-heart with someone who would also be writing their reports in a couple weeks.

"You don't know what to do about Conner", he said it as though it was the most obvious, casual thing in the world, using a tone that implied he knew exactly what the problem was, and how to fix it, and that there was no way in the world she could deny it.

"How do you do that?" Kira was gobsmacked, possibly less then she should have been (this was, Dr Oliver of course) but still, how could he know what was bothering her so much? Was his special dino power telepathy or something?

"What? Know that? Easy. I was in the same situation once. I can read the signs."

She forgot Conner temporarily, and waited eagerly for him to elaborate. When he stayed silent she prompted him with a direct look and a "what do you mean?"

"I used to like a girl, years ago now, same way you like Conner. And don't deny that Kira, I'm a teacher; we're trained to watch out for these budding relationships. Anyway, there was this girl, Kim, and I liked her, and she liked me. And I didn't realise it, but I was in love with her. Still am really I suppose now that you think about." He turned away for a second, and she wondered just how wiped the fight had made him, to be sharing all this information. She had never heard him share anything about himself before.

Dr Oliver continued, "anyway, I was in love with her, I think she was in love with me, but neither of us really believed it, I just assumed that what I felt was an infatuation. So when she left, and told me that there was someone else" He flinched, "I just assumed that I'd move on, and find someone else."

There was a rather pregnant pause.

"I didn't."

She wasn't quite sure how to respond to this rather revealing testimony, and so waited to see what Dr Oliver would do.

"What I'm trying to say Kira, though I don't know it will help, is that I think what you feel for Conner is that same that I felt for Kim. It might not feel like love, or you might feel to young for it, or whatever, but I think that deep under you just know that it is, or at least you realise once you've missed your chance." Pain filled his voice, though he seemed to be trying to hide it, "don't miss your chance Kira."

Still unsure how to respond she grinned at him, standing even before he had finished his sentence and rushing downstairs, determined.

As she left Tommy stood and moved to the fridge, where he picked up the perfectly dusted picture that rested there, and brushed an invisible piece of dust off the smiling face the frame held.

A.N- Well, that's all for now, history study awaits. But, if anyone out there is still reading, chuck us a line, and I'll try and have more up eventually. I'll really make an effort, I promise. But only if I get some reviews, there's no point finishing a story nobodies reading! Lol. Thanks for reading, REVIEW PLEASE. 


	10. END

**Disclaimer- **I don't own the Power Rangers, or anything associated with them.

**Authors Note- **Ok, making the best of a lull in the assessments, here we go, chapter 10. Getting closer to the end now…

She rushed until she hit the last step and then seeing him again (now awake, looking around bleary eyed, obviously still in pain) made her heart leap into her throat, and her stomach started doing back flips.

But Dr Oliver's words and the defeated tone in which he spoke them, made her press on down the last step and towards the bed where Conner lay.

Hayley, sensing something was up, made an excuse that Kira didn't hear and hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

He had heard her coming, soft foot falls on the hard floor, but had made no move to say anything. He felt, not unhappy or miserable, those emotions were to extreme, nor did he feel excited that she was coming over to him. He just felt… nothing. He understood that she didn't feel the same way, and he was glad to have told her how he felt, but that still didn't mean he was upset that he had basically stuffed his friendship with one of his closest friends.

And now here she was, walking towards him, probably coming to try and make him feel better, patronise him, tell him that he was over-reacting to the pressures of being beaten up by a freaky villain lady.

He was probably better off the way he was, Conner thought dismally, deciding to pretend to be asleep.

Kira moved slowly towards him, trying to think of what exactly to say when she reached him. She was rather annoyed to discover that upon reaching him he had drifted off to sleep again. Not quite trusting herself to make the trip again she took the option of sitting in the handy chair by his bed, to wait for him to wake up. She had decided upon about half of a very well thought out speech, that laid out exactly what she felt, and her thoughts as to his feelings when Conner's eyes opened suddenly, and she promptly forgot everything she had been going to say.

"Uh, erm, how are you feeling?"

He didn't look as bad as before, Hayley's handy pain relief medicine was working it seemed.

"Been better" he replied rather dismissively.

"I uh, I wanted to talk to you, erm, about before." It sounded lame, even to her.

"Oh." He sounded, depressed; like he had already decided what she was going to say would crush his heart.

"I think, I think that I'm in love with you too."

There was an awkward silence, and then Conner looked at her rather blearily, like he wasn't quite sure if he was unconscious and dreaming.

"Are you sure?"

He sounded so lost it made her heart hurt. And then she knew. Not just because of what Dr O had told her, she just, knew, instinctively.

"Absolutely"

They both smiled broadly, and then Kira leant over to touch her lips to his.

And Conner decided that maybe today had been worth getting out of bed for after all.

A few weeks later, when Conner was feeling not quite recovered, and there was a break in monster attacks he found himself in Dr Oliver's lab, sorting through random pieces of memorabilia. Dr O hadn't quite achieved tidiness in his house since moving in a year or so before, and had decided that Conner, in his 'rest and recover' period, could make himself useful.

"Where do you want this box Dr O?" Conner asked, heaving large box of something up, and instantly feeling the strain in his ribs. He groaned, leaned forward to relieve the pain, and pitched forward, managing to catch himself before he hit the ground. The box was not so lucky. It flew out of his hands, and hit the ground on its side, contents spilling everywhere.

Tommy Oliver came running, alerted by the crash to see a wincing Conner attempting to pick things up and place them back into a box.

He frowned.

"Maybe you should stay away from lifting things for a bit longer like I told you." He said in a rather no-nonsense tone. Conner tried to grin like nothing was wrong, sort of grimaced from the pain and gave up trying. He dropped (carefully) to his knees and began to load things back into the box.

Something caught his eye.

"Is that you Dr O?" he asked, incredulous. Peeking out from underneath a book on bones was Tommy's face, obviously taken when he was a lot younger, long hair pony-tailed behind his head. Conner pulled the photograph out, revealing the rest of the picture. The young Tommy had his arm around a person who Conner recognised instantly. The girl from the fridge!

Dr Oliver hadn't really looked, so Conner tried again.

"Who's that Dr O? That girl with you in the picture?"

"Oh, that's, well, its no one really" He stumbled over his words, and Conner raised an eyebrow.

"Am I expected to believe that?"

"She's, well, she's someone from a long time ago."

Conner paused, not quite sure how to pick his words.

"You know, Dr O, Kira, she um, she erm, she told me what you said. You know, about her and me and whatever. And, well, when I was in that prison thingy, and Elsa was about to skewer me all I could think was that I had to get out and tell Kira what I felt. Because I didn't want to die not knowing."

Conner stood up awkwardly, his teacher stayed on the ground, grasping the photograph like a life-line. Without a word he moved out of the room, hoping that what he had said would make a difference.

"Hi, this is Kimberly Hart, please leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you soon as I can…"

"Hey Kim, its um, its Tommy, Tommy Oliver. I just, well, I was just ringing to ah, to check in and…"

There was an audible click as the phone was picked up.

"Tommy!"

"Kim!"

"Why are you ringing here?"

"Well Kim, you see, there's something I have to talk to you about. Something happened here recently and I just, I have to tell you..."

Authors note- Well, there we go! Final chapter done and dusted! YEEHA! I'm done! Please leave a review! – 


End file.
